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Protests outside RAF Barnham, which could house asylum seekers (PA)

Residents in Barnham, Suffolk, have voted overwhelmingly to hold a symbolic referendum on leaving the UK in protest against plans to house asylum seekers at a nearby former military base.

Out of 80 attendees at a village hall meeting on Saturday, only seven voted against the proposal, with a group meeting on Monday to establish a timeline for the vote.

Barnham parish council chair John Bauer said that the action responds to the government's failure to consult locals about proposals that will change the village's nature.

The initiative follows a similar vote in Piddington, Oxfordshire, where almost 90 per cent of residents symbolically declared independence in September over asylum housing plans at MoD Bicester.

The Home Office acknowledged the strength of local feeling but defended using self-contained former military sites as a more affordable alternative to hotels.

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